Of Laundry and Luck
by Tarsier
Summary: Kurt gets stuck doing the laundry, which could turn out to be the luckiest thing to ever happen to him. Rated M for mature situations and language.


**Disclaimer:** Obviously I don't own these characters, nor do I own the rights to The Beatles catalogue, nor have any rights to the songs of David Bowie. So please don't sue… You litigious bastards!

**Note:** I originally wrote this story for the Kurtty Chore Challenge a few months back, but thought it was terrible and forgot about it. But I felt that I should give it a second chance, or at the very least let others decide. It is also the first fic I have ever published. So in the words of a prom night virgin, "Please be gentle." HA! p.s. I didn't even attempt to do the accents for Kurt and Rogue, but we all know that they are there and so we can just supply them in our minds yes? Although for the purposes of this story Kurt's accent has lightened during his stay in America.

_** Of Luck and Laundry**_

The folding of laundry was not Kurt's favorite activity, and he knew his friends did not particularly like it when he folded laundry either. They would undoubtedly complain about the occasional stray bit of blue fur that would find its way onto a t-shirt, or pair of pants. He had tried explaining to Storm that having him on laundry duty this week would be a bad idea. She calmly told him that the household chores were worked out in a very complicated rotation system, and that he would just have to suck it up and take his turn. "_I wonder why I always get stuck cleaning the hangar then? If it is such a complicated rotation system, why do I always end up doing that?" _Kurt was not looking forward to cleaning the hangar later that afternoon. First however he needed to finish with the chore at hand… "Alright you monstrosity," he said pointedly to the pile of now clean clothes that dominated the laundry table, "lets get this over with."

He placed his ear-buds into his pointy ears, picked a play list from his ipod, and got lost in the music as he began the mind-numbing task of folding the boy's laundry. It had been decided long ago that there would be a male student responsible for doing the guys laundry. Likewise, there would be a female student to do the girls. This was done for the obvious reason that boys and girls wear different types of clothing… which would make for some awkward situations if a boy was to wash a girls under garments, and vice versa. Kurt didn't really care to know all of that. All he was caring about at the moment as he folded clothes and listened to The Beatles, was why there were so many lonely people, and exactly where did they all come from?

"I hate chores!" Kitty declared as she phased through the door into the room that she shared with Rogue. Said roommate looked up from the book that she was reading and appraised Kitty's very dirty appearance, "Dang! And I thought that mop duty was bad. What you been into kitt?" "It was my turn to help Logan with yard work." she explained as she made her way to the en suite bathroom, the sound of the shower starting up soon drifted through the still open door, followed by Kitty as she walked back out. "Did you know that the western fence needed a few posts replaced?" Kitty asked Rogue as she peeled off her grimy t-shirt. "I didn't even know we had a 'western fence'! Anyway, long story short, digging post holes is no fun at all." "Couldn't you have just phased the posts into the ground?" Rogue asked. The look on Kitty's face was priceless; it was a mixture of anger and embarrassment. "I like asked the badger the same question. You know what he said?" she didn't wait for Rogue to answer, "He said that digging holes builds character! Can you believe that?" with a huff she turned around and walked into the bathroom and slammed the door shut behind her.

Kurt was mildly surprised to find that the once mountainous pile of clothing was slowly eroding away into a mere hill of clothing. He pulled out a pair of pajama bottoms that actually belonged to him. They had been a gift from Kitty. She had given him the pants not for any special occasion, but just because they were best friends and when she had seen them in the mall had thought that they would look 'like, soo cute on you Kurt!' Kurt smiled and shook his head at the memory and then folded up the pants ignoring the little penguins that adorned the fabric. Continuing his chore he let his mind wander in the direction of his favorite subject, his best friend Kitty. Any person at the institute could tell you that Kurt was head over heels in love with that girl. But as of yet he had not worked up the courage to tell her about his feelings. _"Besides, why would she love someone like me when she could have any normal guy she wants?"_

Meanwhile upstairs Kitty had finished her shower. Feeling clean again she headed out of the bathroom wrapped in a towel and went to get some clean clothes from the dresser. Rogue was lost in her novel. She had become so engrossed in the action unfolding on the page that she was actually startled and gave a small jump when Kitty Huffed and slammed the dresser drawer.

"Damn it!" Kitty yelled, "Hey rogue have you borrowed any of my underwear?"

Rogue looked incredulously at her. "Now why would I borrow a pair of your knickers? Pink is so not my color."

"For your information, they weren't pink. They were green. And I know I just washed them…"

"What's so special about that pair? It's not like you don't have more panties." Kitty's face reddened at Rogue's choice of words, a fact that her roommate noticed and smiled at. Kitty lowered her head in embarrassment as she spoke, "Don't laugh or anything, but they are my lucky pair. I was going to go by the pizza place downtown where that cute guy from my chemistry class woks, and ask him out later and I wanted all the luck I could get."

Rogue let out a guffaw of laughter. "Oh, Kit that has got to be the funniest thing I've heard all day. Thank you."

Kitty was not amused. Her face was again flushed red, but this time in anger. Before she could form a comeback, Rogue defused the situation, "Look Kitty, why don't you get dressed, and then go down to the laundry room and look for them. They probably just got left in the dryer or something."

Downstairs, Kurt could neither suspect, nor could he have known that what Rogue had suggested to Kitty was true. Hell, he didn't even know that Kitty was missing a pair of underwear. He was just happy to see that the pile of laundry was almost completely finished. He was happily zoned out listening to David Bowie and was quietly singing to himself translating the words into his native German,

"Fünf jahre! Das alles wir habt! Wir habt, fünf Jahre, das alles wir gehabt!" His tail swinging back and forth like a metronome.

Suddenly he was pulled out of his happy little singing as four things happened all at once.

Reaching into the pile Kurt pulled out a wadded up piece of green fabric.

Kurt unwadded it and held it up in front of his face confused.

He recognized it as ladies thong underwear.

Someone screamed, "Pervert!"

Kurt looked up from the underwear and right into the angry eyes of non other than Kitty Pryde.

"Ki-ki-kitty…" Kurt tried to speak as his mind made the connection of just whose underwear he must be holding, "It's not what it looks like! I swea…."

He was unable to finish as Kitty slapped him hard across the face. The force so strong that it knocked his ear-buds out, the tiny voice of David Bowie crying out "_five years!" _as they fell to the floor. She snatched the undergarment from his hands, her body shaking in anger. "How dare you put your disgusting pervert hands on my underwear! You are such a freak!" and with that she stormed from the laundry room. Leaving only a very hurt and embarrassed elf behind her. Tears rising to his eyes as the little speakers continued to emit the tiny voice. One minute we was just a happy little elf minding his own business. Now he was a crushed elf with a limp tail.

Kitty's anger had not slated at all by the time she returned to the room she shared with Rogue. She phased right through the door, stomped over to her bed and sat down on it with a huff. Rogue looked up from her novel reluctantly,

"Did your find your britches?"

"Yes I did." Kitty growled out.

"Kit, are you ok?" Rogue regretted the words as soon as they left her mouth, because Kitty gave her a death glare that would have made The Wolverine proud. She then proceeded to recount to Rogue just what she had found down in the laundry room. She of course left out how she had slapped Kurt, and her harsh words.

"And he was just looking at them. What a perv! I thought he was my best friend."

Rogue was actually quite annoyed at her friend's ignorance. "Kitty! How could you be so dense and hot headed?" The younger girl looked over at her roommate shocked, was Rouge taking his side in this? Before Kitty could speak, Rogue went on, "Kitty, Kurt cares more about you than anyone else in this mansion. He would never do such a thing knowingly. Did you wonder what he was doing the whole time you were out there digging holes? He's been down there folding the guy's laundry all day. Plus he has to go clean the hangar afterwards too. The poor guy didn't even want to be down there folding all of that crap…" "He does tend to shed on the clothes." Kitty supplied. "And Kitty, why did you go down there in the first place? Because Your lucky panties got left in the dryer. They probably got mixed with the boys things." Kitty stopped and remembered the look on Kurt's face when she had caught him. It wasn't the look of someone who was caught doing something they shouldn't. Rather it was the frightened look of one who was genuinely confused.

"Oh God, I'm such a bitch." Kitty's head dropped down as she realized her mistake. "Well, just go apologize to him. Kit the kid is crazy for you, he will accept it."

"I don't think he will this time Rogue, I did something very bad…"

Rogue looked at her expectantly, "Kitty, what did you do?"

She could not bring herself to look into her roommate's eyes as she spoke. Her shame was that great. "I kind of slapped him…" Rogue drew in a sharp breath, "And that's not all. I," A sob escaped her throat, "I said his hands were disgusting, and I called him a freak." The tears were flowing now.

Rogue was shocked and angered. "Damn it all girl! You really screwed up this time. You know how sensitive Kurt is about how he looks. And to have the girl you've been crushing on say that to you too. Ouch!"

Kitty looked up at Rogue, "what do you mean crushing on?" "I thought you were supposed to be some kind of genius Pryde. Haven't you been listening to what I have been telling you? Are you so blind? Everyone has known for at least a year that Kurt is in love with you! Geeze it's a wonder that he has stayed stuck on you all this time. I wouldn't be surprised if he finally got the picture this time." Rogue just shook her head sadly after she finished.

Kitty felt terrible. "I think I need to go be alone for a while" she announced quietly just before she sank through the floor.

Kurt had first gone to his room. Then after pacing around a while feeling sorry for himself his eyes settled on the picture that sat on his dresser. It was a "family" portrait of the institute. Right down front and center were Kurt and Kitty with their arms over each other's shoulders. Kitty was smiling brightly into the camera, as Kurt in turn looked at her with a longing smile on his face. He picked up the picture and ran a finger over the glass _"…Your disgusting pervert fingers..." "Freak!" _ He could still feel the sting on his face. _"How could anyone ever love me? I am just a freak, not even my own mother wanted me. I'm worthless"_ He thought to himself. In an outburst of self-hatred he flung the picture at the door taking satisfaction when the glass shattered. Then with a '**Bamf**' He was gone.

Kitty meanwhile, had gone out to the dock on the institute's pond. She sat at the end of the wooden dock thinking. _"How could I have been so blind? Kurt is like the nicest guy I have ever met. He is so kind, and caring. He always makes me smile and cheers me up." _ She leaned back and stared up into the darkening sky. She noticed how part of the sky was fading into a dark blue, the same color as Kurt's fur. "_And his fur is so soft! He is like a big teddy bear. I can't believe he has stuck around me for as long as he has. I treat him like crap!"_ And as she thought about it she realized it was true. Kurt had always been there for her, and she in turn had used him as a comforter. Every time she had broken up with lance she had gone straight to Kurt to bitch and moan. She could not even begin to imagine what it must feel like to have the person you love complain about his or her relationship with someone else to you. The thought of it made her heartbreak, and fresh tears come to her eyes. She decided that she needed to go and try and make things right with her friend. She just hoped that it wasn't too late. Getting to her feet she began a light jog back to the mansion that soon became an all out sprint. She had to find Kurt.

She knocked on his door for several minutes without receiving an answer. "Kurt? It's me Kitty. I'm coming in ok?" It was a good thing that she was wearing her shoes when she phased into his room, as she immediately stepped on something crunchy. Looking down she was surprised to see broken glass. She bent down and picked up the picture, and looked at it. Although she had the same photo in her room, it was the first time that she really noticed the emotion on Kurt's face and was able to put a name to it. _"Oh, he really does love me!" _ Then she realized something very important… _"And I love him! I love Kurt!"_ Looking around the room she assured herself that it was indeed empty. As she finally resigned herself to having to wait to apologize to Kurt, a plan began to form in her head. _"Don't worry Fuzzy, I'll make it up to you. I'll make it all up to you..._ "

The next morning found Kurt sitting at the breakfast table feeling like crap. He had been out most of the night just wandering the institute grounds feeling depressed, and trying to clear his head. He had finally returned to his room around three in the morning. He was able to tell that Kitty had been in his room. His sensitive nose was able to pick up her lingering scent. He could recognize her scent anywhere. It was his favorite, Strawberries and vanilla, and a deeper smell- a heady smell that was simply kitty. It had filled him with a fresh wave of sadness and he curled up on his bed and cried himself to sleep. Now he was sitting at the breakfast table feeling like shit warmed over. "Hey Elf, what's up? You look like shit warmed over?" Logan looked at him over his newspaper. "Ja, Herr Logan. I did not get much sleep last night." The Wolverine gave a little growl before he spoke, "Well, maybe you can get some rest after you finish the chores you shirked off yesterday?" _"Great!"_ Kurt Thought, _ "How much better can my life get?"_

Luckily for Kurt, being in the hangar all day meant that it was easier for him to avoid Kitty. It also gave him a mindless activity to focus on and keep himself occupied. By the time he finished it was early evening. Even Logan was impressed by how clean and shiny the hangar was. Kurt didn't really care how pleased The Wolverine was, all Kurt cared about was taking a hot shower and going to bed.

Kitty crept down the hall towards Kurt's room. The sounds of a typical Sunday night at the institute filled the air. She could not remember a time that she had been so nervous before _"I can't believe I am about to do this." _A small voice said inside her head, "_Oh come on, you have no reason to be, he is your best friend and he loves you, and you love him." _ Even as she told herself that, the knot in her stomach pulled tighter. She placed her ear to the door but could not hear anything through it. So she phased her head through the heavy oak, and looked around the darkened room. It took her a moment to see Kurt, standing with his back towards her on his balcony. She could tell even from where she was that the fuzzy elf was bummed. His shoulders her sunk down, and his head was bowed low, and his tail dangled limp in the slight breeze. _"Don't worry my friend. I'll make you feel better._" A smile came to her lips._ "Well here goes nothing!"_

After a very needed hot shower, Kurt had slipped on some comfy sweat pants, and a baggy hooded sweatshirt. The hood so large that when he had first worn it around the institute Evan had joked that it made him look like a monk. Which was why whenever he wore it people would joke and call him "Brother Nightcrawler". The thought of the jovial joking elf as a priest became a favored joke around the house after that. Currently however, the idea of priesthood was starting to look rather appealing to Kurt. _"At least I wouldn't have to worry about girl problems. And I could easily avoid people who would want to hurt me if I was away in a monastery. But then again why would they want someone who looks like a demon?" _After all, the priests back in Germany had tried to burn him at the stake... His thoughts were interrupted as a familiar scent caught his attention. He spun around only to find himself face to face with a very sorrowful looking Kitty Pryde. "Kitty…" Before he could form anything else to say she had thrown herself upon him and was hugging him tightly with her face buried in his chest. "I'm so sorry Fuzzy. I'm so, so, so sorry. I can't believe I have been such a bitch to you." Her words were a bit muffled, but he could hear them all the same. He could also feel the dampness of her tears soaking through his sweatshirt.

"Kätchzen, es ist alright. Du bist keine Schlampe." She could tell that he was nervous or felt uncomfortable, because he only slipped into his German when he was flustered or alone. In fact even his accent had nearly faded away in recent months. A fact that she now realized made her a little sad. "No Kurt, it is not alright. I have been a right queen bitch. I have taken advantage of our friendship on more than one occasion, and it is only now that I realize just how much I have hurt you." She leaned back enough so that she could look up at him. His gold eyes glowed in the shadow of his large hood. He was at a loss for words. Kitty pressed on, "And it is only very recently that realized just how much you care about me..." She could see his eyes get larger. She saw hat he was afraid, afraid that she was going to be angry with him for feeling the way he did.

She continued, "And it was only very recently that I realized how much I care for you." Kitty looked up into his golden eyes, and seeing her moment she took it. "I love you Kurt Wagner" And with that she went up on her toes and kissed him firmly on the lips. His whole body tensed up instinctively, but gradually as the kiss lasted, he relaxed and reciprocated her actions. While they were kissing, he could feel Kitty fidgeting around a bit. Reluctantly he broke the kiss and looked down to see that her hand was phased into his large sweatshirt pocket. At the questioning look on his face Kitty just smiled and said, "You will have to wait and see _My_ fuzzy one." He noted the emphasis on the word 'My' and his heart soared. But before he could even say anything, she surprised him once more by pulling him down for a very passionate kiss. When they pulled apart all Kurt could manage was. "Unglaublich" to Which Kitty smiled and giggled. "So, I will see you in the morning? We can walk to school together." He could only nod his head dumbly with a goofy smile on his face. She kissed him once more on the cheek before turning around and skipping out of his room, phasing right through the door.

It was only after Kitty had been gone for several moments that Kurt's brain began to function well enough for him to remember that Kitty had been in his pocket a little while before. He reached in and pulled out a crumpled piece of paper, and a little bundle. He straightened out the piece of paper and was able to make out the words in the fading light, "For Luck. -Love your Kätchzen" He then unwadded the small bundle, A heady aroma met his nostrils that was distinctly Kitty, and the clarity that had recently come to his mind receded once more as he recognized the green piece of fabric in his hands. "Oh Mein Gott!" and with that The Amazing NightCrawler passed out on his floor. Kitty heard the heavy thump through the door and giggled to herself. _"Those are lucky panties!" _ She then went in search of Ororo so that she could thank her for putting Kurt on Laundry duty.

**The End.**

**Note: **There You go. My very first fic. I hope you all enjoyed! I am still a little confused about wether or not the formatting works. I am used to writing in a prose format that does not seem to translate well onto . Review and let me know. I have a few other ideas for stories that have been jangling around in my head for a while.

p.s. I have always pictured Kurt as a Bowie fan, everyone always pegs him as a Beatles guy, but I figure he can be both.


End file.
